Last updated on
Reviewed by Paddy Stobbs
Stackfix Co-Founder & CEO
Zendesk Sell and Capsule are both entry level CRMs targeting SMBs.
Zendesk Sell excels in prospecting and sales operations with its built-in database of 20M+ companies and native calling capabilities, making it ideal for outbound sales teams needing built-in prospecting tools. Capsule, with its intuitive interface and excellent email integration, better serves small businesses who want integrated marketing functionality.
Advantages of Capsule
Advantages of Zendesk Sell
Capsule
Zendesk Sell
 Capsule Starting at $0Billed monthly |  Zendesk Sell Starting at $25user / month Billed monthly |
|---|
| Stackfix Verdict | ||
|---|---|---|
| Functionality | 4 <p>As a standalone CRM, Capsule provides basic features like contact and pipeline management, but its automation and reporting tools are limited. You can’t even track email engagement rates. If you want more robust marketing functionality, you’ll need to buy Transpond—but it’s not really an add-on. It’s a separate platform entirely.</p> | 6 <p>Zendesk Sell offers a mix of advanced and basic features. On the plus side, it includes built-in prospecting and data enrichment, the ability to send texts and emails, make calls, and even create custom objects. However, its automation is extremely limited, with just one trigger available - you also can’t create custom reports, which feel like glaring omissions for a CRM.</p> |
| Ease of Use | 8 <p>Capsule’s simplicity makes it easy to use. Navigating its modules is quick, and most users should be comfortable with it in under an hour, even without much guidance.</p> | 5 <p>Zendesk Sell is generally easy to set up and navigate, but there are frustrations. On the top of our list is how contacts and companies are stored in the same database. This means that when associating a contact with a deal, you’ll have to scroll through a disorganized list of both individuals and companies. Pages lack color coding, making them cluttered and difficult to scan for key information.</p> |
| Look and feel | 7 <p>Capsule has a clean, visually appealing design with color-coded elements that make it easy on the eyes. Page load times are reasonable, usually within 1-2 seconds.</p> | 4 <p>Zendesk Sell gets the job done but looks dull and uninspired. Some pages, like the automation and reporting modules, feel like unfinished prototypes. Page loads are another issue, with delays of up to five seconds</p> |
| Customisability | 6 <p>Capsule isn’t great for customization. You can create custom fields, tags, and multiple pipelines, and it does offer project pipelines alongside sales pipelines, which is useful.</p><p>However, the automation module is very limited. You can’t build custom reports or objects, and you can’t customize what’s displayed on deal cards, which can be frustrating.</p> | 6 <p>Customization is another mixed bag. You can create custom objects, multiple pipelines, and custom fields, which is helpful. However, automation tools are severely limited, with just one trigger available for workflows. You also can’t create custom reports, which restricts flexibility.</p> |
| Ease of Setup | 6 <p>Although Capsule offers a free trial and free tier, we found the initial setup slightly confusing (taking >15 minutes) - you'll need to manually configure email forwarding and connect your calendar through subscription links.</p><p>However, fully customising the platform is straightforward and can be done within a day, due to Capsule's limited functionality.</p> | 7 <p>Close offers a free trial without need to speak to sales. Completing basic setup is simple, taking around 10 minutes to import contacts and set up pipelines. Due to Zendesk's limited customisability compared to more heavweight CRMs, fully setting up the platform is straightforward, and can be largely done within 1-2 business days. </p> |
| Customer Support | 8 <p>Capsule’s self-serve support materials are well-written and cover most basics. However, to contact the support team, you’re required to fill out a support request form, which feels unnecessarily cumbersome. That said, the team responds quickly—usually within minutes.</p> | 3 <p>Customer support leaves a lot to be desired. The AI chatbot is often unhelpful or misleading, and attempts to connect with a human agent resulted in error messages on two separate occasions we were testing it. When connected to a human agent, the response is generic and forces you to go to a Help Centre article. Zendesk's Help Centre, while reasonably well-written, is not always easy to navigate.</p> |
| Integratability | 6 <p>Capsule offers 70+ pre-built integrations with relevant third-party apps, allowing you to connect with customers across channels like phone or WhatsApp. It also integrates with popular tools for customer support and project management.</p><p>However, it’s missing key integrations like JIRA, Calendly, Outreach, and Intercom. While it does provide an API for custom integrations, this may not be a practical solution for everyone.</p> | 8 <p>Zendesk Sell offers a very comprehensive library of pre-built integrations with many relevant third-party apps. It also has an API for custom integrations.</p> |
| Ease of Migration | 5 <p>Capsule’s export functionality is limited. You can only export contacts and pre-built reports through self-serve options. Exporting projects or opportunities isn’t straightforward, though it might be possible using the API.</p> | 9 <p>Exporting data is easy. Contacts, deals and reports can all be exported via one click. Its API also allows you export any other necessary data.</p> |
Want to find out how Zendesk Sell or Capsule stacks up with their competitors?